News - Middle East: In Britain, the chairman of the governing Conservative Party is looking at bringing in the military to help keep public services running if key workers take strike action.

“Our message to the unions is to say ‘this is not a time to strike, this is a time to try and negotiate.’ But in the absence of that, it is important for the government... to have contingency plans in place,” Nadhim Zahawi was quoted as saying on Sunday.

“We’re looking at the military, we’re looking at a specialist response force... a surge capacity,” he said, adding that the military could be brought in to drive ambulances.

Britain is embroiled in a cost-of-living crisis. Various labor unions are preparing for similar protest actions ahead of Christmas.